Lightweight tunnel for baseball pitching practice
A fabric tunnel for baseball pitching practice with a simple “auto-catcher” is made of netting in one embodiment. At the target end a flap with indicia of accuracy of aim also constitutes a flap that provides an audible feedback when hit and also allows the thrown balls to be captured. Straps are used to hold the tunnel in position by attachment to poles supported by guy wires or the straps could be attached to fixed objects such as a chain-link fence.
This application is a continuation application of PCT/US11/01199 filed Jul. 7, 2011 designating the U.S. which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application 61/362,047 filed Jul. 7, 2010. These two applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
FIELDThese systems and methods are in the field of devices and techniques for practicing a game played with a ball.
BACKGROUNDWhile there are numerous fixed-location batting cages and some transportable batting cages, these devices generally provide no utility for the practice of pitching.
SUMMARYEmbodiments consistent with these teachings can include a tunnel made of netting with one open side. That open end can be of a size suitable for someone to stand in front of and pitch a ball through the tunnel towards the distal end. The distal end includes a target area of size and with indicia delineating an appropriate region for baseball strikes. A containing region within the distal end can provide for capture and retention of “caught” balls. Embodiments of these teachings do not require rigid frames along the length of the tunnel.
This is related to the present inventor's application published as US 2009/0286631 A1 on Nov. 19, 2009. Many of the options and alternatives of that application as well as its uses are applicable to the present invention as well. That application is contained within this application to provide additional context.
Embodiments of the present invention can be made by trapezoidal lengths of netting sewn together with nylon webbing.
The tunnel is held in use configuration by straps 507 attached by hooks 529. In some installations some straps may be attached to fixed structures such as a chain-link fence. As shown, the straps are attached to vertical polls 508 which can be held by guy wires (not shown) for support. Although somewhat obscured in this
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There may be many materials and methods of construction compatible with these teachings. One manner of construction is demonstrated in
In
Those skilled in the art will be aware of materials, techniques and equipment suitable to produce the example embodiments presented as well as variations on those examples. This teaching is presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments and versions help to explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand it. Various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular application contemplated are expected.
In the following claims, the words “a” and “an” should be taken to mean “at least one” in all cases, even if the wording “at least one” appears in one or more claims explicitly. The scope of the invention is set out in the claims below.
Claims
1. A baseball pitching-practice tunnel comprising:
- a four-sided fabric having a length approximately that of a distance between a pitching mound and a home plate in a baseball field, or a softball field;
- each of said four fabric sides being planar and trapezoidal in shape, such as, when deployed, said four fabric sides define a tapering tunnel with an open front end and a narrower distal end;
- wherein the opening of said front end is of a size large enough so a player standing at the front end opening can safely throw balls into the tunnel without significant risk of missing the front end opening;
- said distal end comprising a target area, said target area including a target flap hingedly disposed within the target area, the tunnel further including a region behind said flap for capturing thrown balls, said region being readily accessible to extract thrown balls, said flap providing an audible feedback when hit by a thrown ball;
- still further, the tunnel comprising attachment points at said open front end and said distal end for deploying the tunnel tautly, the attachment points having a strength sufficient to allow support of the tunnel when stretched to the extent that the tunnel is fully deployed and taut, and whereby the tunnel requires no rigid frames along the length of the tunnel, and wherein the fabric on at least one of the four-sides of the tunnel is formed of a net material.
2. The pitching practice tunnel of claim 1, wherein said attachment points at the distal end of the tunnel comprise at least four straps, at least one strap attached to each distal end corner, said at least four straps terminating in hooks and suitable for connecting to a backstop or chain link fence, and wherein at least three of the four-sided fabric comprise a net material.
3. The pitching practice tunnel of claim 1 further comprising at the distal end of the tunnel, a demarcated target region having at least two distinctly demarcated portions.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Dec 11, 2012
Date of Patent: Mar 11, 2014
Patent Publication Number: 20130102423
Inventor: Matthew Hammons (Scottsdale, AZ)
Primary Examiner: Mitra Aryanpour
Application Number: 13/711,053
International Classification: A63B 69/00 (20060101);